Despite any ethical pressure, most people will not pay for what they can get for free, be it completely legal or not. It's still too simple and easy to get music for free, and furthermore most downloaders fail to appriciate what, if any harm is being done to the artists.
To add to the confusion, newer bands ENCOURAGE their fans to download and enjoy their music for free. When Metallica first started there were thousands of underground audio tapes circulating the metal music scene. They were thrilled that people loved their stuff. What changed? Is it less important that people love the music and want to see the band play?
Yes, its not good to violate legal copyrights because it could,hypothetically cause financial harm to the copyright holder. The extent of the harm certainly mediates the decision to violate the copyright. Hence why most people wouldn't plagiarize a novel, but they'll download a song they didnt pay for.
If it's illegal in America, host it in Uzbekistan," snapped the 14-year-old.
The kids know its B.S. Just like back when I was in school and the D.A.R.E program was out with the whole "Drugs are Bad m'kay" movement. Yes heavy narcotic use is bad and awareness education serves its purpose, but even then it wasn't terribly effective. Even the "good" kids smoked dope when they got to High School. Come to think of it, especially the good kids.
I trust that junior high kids are by and large savvy enough to recognize B.S., and the "Bad apples" will go download stuff just because they aren't supposed to.
Consider that most of the world's best and brightest travel to the US to attend school and study such things as astronautical engineering and the like.
I knew a Malaysian guy at the AF Academy who i'm pretty sure was an astro major. Any sort of Space ops training would be desireable in any Malaysian astronaut candidate, so while the request for "previous space exploration experience" seems a little odd, it actually entails more than just being in space. Mission control, orbital dynamics, etc. are also essential to a space program and I'm sure they need people with experience from that arena.
I've posted responses to this effect before, but , yes I agree. Robert Zubrin's The Case for Mars Outlines a plan for reaching the red planet using existing technology, including a modified skylab-like capsule that could be shot directly from earth and use gravity assist to fall out of earth's orbit into that of Mars. Great book, great ideas, very do-able plan for reaching Mars soon!
What if...instead of the government chanelling untold billions in to NASA programs that are rarely completed and that the public has no confidence in, they took 1/3 of the NASA budget and used it to fund "contests" like the X-prize. A few billion would get the attention of a lot of companies around the world. Spend 20 million, win a billion, hell of an ROI.
Maybe have a stipulation that participants relinquish IP rights to their designs to further the world's space push.
While the government of FL is trying to find new and creative ways to squeeze money out of its residents, it should consider that:
1. LAN taxes will discourage corporate expansion throughout Florida. 2. Companies will resist opening offices in FL and business will be lost. 3. Companies with LANS provide much needed white-collar office jobs and generally result in wealthier citizens, higher property values and other goodies that come with more $$$ in a community. 4. Other State taxes, specifically the tax on registering an out-of-state vehicle, have been challenged in court and the State has been out BIG $$$, so thanks to that precedent they should consider any "revolutionary new tax" seriously before putting it on the books.
This seems like a golden opportunity if we as a collective planet had our $hit together and wanted to launch a manned mission to Mars. This is the single point in human history when we could most benefit (in travel time reduction) from launching a mission or at least a probe of some sort. Granted, the difference between the proximity of Mars now and another point of opposition may only vary by 1% or so, but that 1% distance reduction would allow for more gear/less fuel/less travel time.
The word "high" might be misleading...substantial taxes are levied on gasoline, cigarettes, booze and people dont care because the tax isnt "excessive".
no one would pay 100 bucks for a pack of pot, but they'd probably pay 20 bucks for good pharmaceutical grade ganja...
offer quality, safe product, tax it substantially but not oppressively. Thats' the point.
To help remediate some of the financial woes of california, additional "sin" taxes could add up to huge sums of money for the state to funnel into education, law enforcement, business incentives etc.
Scientifically speaking Marijuana is no more, and likely less addictive than other LEGAL regulated substances. (i.e. tobacco, alcohol, caffiene). That said, it is unlikely that government regulated, legal marijuana would spawn an outbreak of drug addiction, which is the unexpressed fear of some who oppose legalization.
Now, on to the $$. If a pack of 20 marijuana cigarettes cost, say 20 dollars its likely they would sell like hotcakes. If the government were to regulate their production and sale, including hefty taxes, there is ample room for tremendous profit for the manufacturers, wholesalers, distributers etc. as well as HUGE tax revenue.
Additionally law enforcement would save tons of money becuase no more marijuana related crime (i.e. sale/possesion) would have to be dealt with.
So, lots of extra tax $$$, more law enforcement resources and a stoned and happy populace makes some sense.
This is why I love being a programmer at a little company: my "corporate uniform" typically includes a hawaiian(sp?) shirt, shorts, and sandals (with or without socks). The more tacky the shirt the better; it screams "I sit in front of a computer all day and I love it!"...unfortunately it also screams "I'm single and have no burning desire to attract women". On occasion you'll be suprised and women won't run away screaming upon seeing your tacky polyester hawaiian shirt...
Just because something doesnt work the way you want it to doesn't mean its broken or bad in any way. As a programmer at a small sofware firm the tech guys are always coming in reporting "bugs" in the software when customers complain about the way something works or if it works differently than they expect. Most of the time they are simply trying to use part of the product in a way it wasn't intended to be used or they are expecting a different result than what they are seeing. No one ever reads directions or documentation (RTFM?) so these "features" are labeled "bugs".
This article is another example of an ignorant person too lazy to look into why things work the way they do. When searching for "apple" arent you getting relevant results based on what you searched for? Google cant read your mind and KNOW EXACTLY what you want UNLESS YOU TELL IT. Gargage in, Garbage out blah blah blah.
Another important lesson that can be learned largely from multiplayer gaming is Teamwork. More specifically, leadership/followership skills. FPS games (i.e. quake series, counterstrike, Return to Casltle Wolfenstein) offer tremendous opportunity to interact with people as teamates in a stressful situation. The ability to work with others under pressure is a great skill that is practiced daily by the world's FPS gamers. Capture the flag - style games virtually require teamates to coordinate efforts and improvise as needed to accomplish their goals together. The US army clearly hasn't missed this observation, as evidenced by their own FPS intended to be used as a recruiting tool.
Online community debates aside, cyberspace interactions in games provide an opportunity for games to hone thier interpersonal skills. Questions like "How do i get people to listen to me", or "When should I do as I'm told and when should I make my own decisions" are easily answered in the context of team-based combat online.
It pains me that this is news 2X over on slashdot in 2 days. Although it points out that while not all gamers are geeks, many of them ARE or this wouldnt be news. BTW, I'm both a gamer and a geek and proud of being both.
China is very wise to beat the rest of us to Mars. It will let them set up fried rice stands and an oppressive totalitarian government before anyone can else can show up to defend Martian civil and human rights.
Since the black vanes heat up more and faster than the white, this isnt an analogous technology. BUT, why the heck dont we use THIS technology for solar sailing? If the photon reflection idea isnt reasonable why not go with what we know works?
Relativity is only a Theory, not scientific law. There is no proof that things cannot travel faster than "c", only mathematical implications that they cannot.
While the cost of microsoft products, retail or OEM is substantially higher than Open Source alternatives, there is a consideration that is not addressed by that cost: Training.
Most of the kids going into the army have some experience with computers: computers running Windows. The more familiar new recruits are with Army technology the less training will be required and the less time/resources/money need to be invested in getting newly enlisted GIs up to speed. The military is like a business in many ways. They write memos, reports, letters, make spreadsheets and send email. The most efficient way of getting all personel on the same page technologically is to deploy the "lowest common denominator". That is to say, software that is good enough and easy enough to use.
I was a beta tester for SWG for the past few months and after spending hours upon hours downloading patches and trying to log into the server (that seemed to always be down) I finally got in then promptly got disconnected, repeatedly. The product seemed very unpolished and lacked any real sort of focus. The tutorial was good, but once you got through it you found yourself walking around saying "gee, wish i had some clue what to do". I have played a LOT of MMORPGs and SWG is just another in a bunch of mediocre games.
1. You have to be able to distinguish licensed from unlicensed materials. If I buy a CD you'd better belive I can copy the tracks to my computer to listen to them. If I trade those tracks to someone else how do they know they are now unlicensed?
2. If it is LEGAL to hack into and destroy a computer with non-licensed materials think about the Hackers who will write a song, copy it to a target computer, then destroy said computer LEGALLY.
3. Congress has no place dictating technology policy to the world. Let the civil courts decide who has been hurt, how badly, and decide the remedy. Copyrights infringement is not a criminal act, or at least it shouldnt be. If it is costing someone money, they can sue for damages. More laws != More gooder...
Tv, movies, books, gardening etc. are all things that are viable alternatives to gaming. In disagreeing (flaming) with me, you actually wound up paraphrasing me.
Go garden, read a book, get your offline affairs in order IN ADDITION TO your online ones. A UPO degree was just an example of a "more constructive" use of time. "more constructive" of course is completely subjective and my example was just a for instance. Calm down
Slashdot Mirror
Despite any ethical pressure, most people will not pay for what they can get for free, be it completely legal or not. It's still too simple and easy to get music for free, and furthermore most downloaders fail to appriciate what, if any harm is being done to the artists.
To add to the confusion, newer bands ENCOURAGE their fans to download and enjoy their music for free. When Metallica first started there were thousands of underground audio tapes circulating the metal music scene. They were thrilled that people loved their stuff. What changed? Is it less important that people love the music and want to see the band play?
Yes, its not good to violate legal copyrights because it could,hypothetically cause financial harm to the copyright holder. The extent of the harm certainly mediates the decision to violate the copyright. Hence why most people wouldn't plagiarize a novel, but they'll download a song they didnt pay for.
If it's illegal in America, host it in Uzbekistan," snapped the 14-year-old.
The kids know its B.S. Just like back when I was in school and the D.A.R.E program was out with the whole "Drugs are Bad m'kay" movement. Yes heavy narcotic use is bad and awareness education serves its purpose, but even then it wasn't terribly effective. Even the "good" kids smoked dope when they got to High School. Come to think of it, especially the good kids.
I trust that junior high kids are by and large savvy enough to recognize B.S., and the "Bad apples" will go download stuff just because they aren't supposed to.
I take exception to your remaks! I also reserve hate for nations in South America, Scandanavia, Oceana and Australia...
Consider that most of the world's best and brightest travel to the US to attend school and study such things as astronautical engineering and the like.
I knew a Malaysian guy at the AF Academy who i'm pretty sure was an astro major. Any sort of Space ops training would be desireable in any Malaysian astronaut candidate, so while the request for "previous space exploration experience" seems a little odd, it actually entails more than just being in space. Mission control, orbital dynamics, etc. are also essential to a space program and I'm sure they need people with experience from that arena.
I've posted responses to this effect before, but , yes I agree. Robert Zubrin's The Case for Mars Outlines a plan for reaching the red planet using existing technology, including a modified skylab-like capsule that could be shot directly from earth and use gravity assist to fall out of earth's orbit into that of Mars. Great book, great ideas, very do-able plan for reaching Mars soon!
...drum roll... Any Windows OS *rim shot (*ducks)
What if...instead of the government chanelling untold billions in to NASA programs that are rarely completed and that the public has no confidence in, they took 1/3 of the NASA budget and used it to fund "contests" like the X-prize. A few billion would get the attention of a lot of companies around the world. Spend 20 million, win a billion, hell of an ROI.
Maybe have a stipulation that participants relinquish IP rights to their designs to further the world's space push.
While the government of FL is trying to find new and creative ways to squeeze money out of its residents, it should consider that:
1. LAN taxes will discourage corporate expansion throughout Florida.
2. Companies will resist opening offices in FL and business will be lost.
3. Companies with LANS provide much needed white-collar office jobs and generally result in wealthier citizens, higher property values and other goodies that come with more $$$ in a community.
4. Other State taxes, specifically the tax on registering an out-of-state vehicle, have been challenged in court and the State has been out BIG $$$, so thanks to that precedent they should consider any "revolutionary new tax" seriously before putting it on the books.
This seems like a golden opportunity if we as a collective planet had our $hit together and wanted to launch a manned mission to Mars. This is the single point in human history when we could most benefit (in travel time reduction) from launching a mission or at least a probe of some sort. Granted, the difference between the proximity of Mars now and another point of opposition may only vary by 1% or so, but that 1% distance reduction would allow for more gear/less fuel/less travel time.
The word "high" might be misleading...substantial taxes are levied on gasoline, cigarettes, booze and people dont care because the tax isnt "excessive". no one would pay 100 bucks for a pack of pot, but they'd probably pay 20 bucks for good pharmaceutical grade ganja... offer quality, safe product, tax it substantially but not oppressively. Thats' the point.
Relevant because:
To help remediate some of the financial woes of california, additional "sin" taxes could add up to huge sums of money for the state to funnel into education, law enforcement, business incentives etc.
Scientifically speaking Marijuana is no more, and likely less addictive than other LEGAL regulated substances. (i.e. tobacco, alcohol, caffiene). That said, it is unlikely that government regulated, legal marijuana would spawn an outbreak of drug addiction, which is the unexpressed fear of some who oppose legalization.
Now, on to the $$. If a pack of 20 marijuana cigarettes cost, say 20 dollars its likely they would sell like hotcakes. If the government were to regulate their production and sale, including hefty taxes, there is ample room for tremendous profit for the manufacturers, wholesalers, distributers etc. as well as HUGE tax revenue.
Additionally law enforcement would save tons of money becuase no more marijuana related crime (i.e. sale/possesion) would have to be dealt with.
So, lots of extra tax $$$, more law enforcement resources and a stoned and happy populace makes some sense.
Can I donate to the "See the hot chick on his site naked" campaign fund?
"mmm....yeah...this Friday is hawaiian shirt day, so if you want, go ahead and wear a hawaiian shirt and jeans..." - Quoth the Lumberg
This is why I love being a programmer at a little company: my "corporate uniform" typically includes a hawaiian(sp?) shirt, shorts, and sandals (with or without socks). The more tacky the shirt the better; it screams "I sit in front of a computer all day and I love it!"...unfortunately it also screams "I'm single and have no burning desire to attract women". On occasion you'll be suprised and women won't run away screaming upon seeing your tacky polyester hawaiian shirt...
Just because something doesnt work the way you want it to doesn't mean its broken or bad in any way. As a programmer at a small sofware firm the tech guys are always coming in reporting "bugs" in the software when customers complain about the way something works or if it works differently than they expect. Most of the time they are simply trying to use part of the product in a way it wasn't intended to be used or they are expecting a different result than what they are seeing. No one ever reads directions or documentation (RTFM?) so these "features" are labeled "bugs".
This article is another example of an ignorant person too lazy to look into why things work the way they do. When searching for "apple" arent you getting relevant results based on what you searched for? Google cant read your mind and KNOW EXACTLY what you want UNLESS YOU TELL IT. Gargage in, Garbage out blah blah blah.
Another important lesson that can be learned largely from multiplayer gaming is Teamwork. More specifically, leadership/followership skills. FPS games (i.e. quake series, counterstrike, Return to Casltle Wolfenstein) offer tremendous opportunity to interact with people as teamates in a stressful situation. The ability to work with others under pressure is a great skill that is practiced daily by the world's FPS gamers. Capture the flag - style games virtually require teamates to coordinate efforts and improvise as needed to accomplish their goals together. The US army clearly hasn't missed this observation, as evidenced by their own FPS intended to be used as a recruiting tool.
Online community debates aside, cyberspace interactions in games provide an opportunity for games to hone thier interpersonal skills. Questions like "How do i get people to listen to me", or "When should I do as I'm told and when should I make my own decisions" are easily answered in the context of team-based combat online.
It pains me that this is news 2X over on slashdot in 2 days. Although it points out that while not all gamers are geeks, many of them ARE or this wouldnt be news. BTW, I'm both a gamer and a geek and proud of being both.
China is very wise to beat the rest of us to Mars. It will let them set up fried rice stands and an oppressive totalitarian government before anyone can else can show up to defend Martian civil and human rights.
Since the black vanes heat up more and faster than the white, this isnt an analogous technology. BUT, why the heck dont we use THIS technology for solar sailing? If the photon reflection idea isnt reasonable why not go with what we know works?
Relativity is only a Theory, not scientific law. There is no proof that things cannot travel faster than "c", only mathematical implications that they cannot.
While the cost of microsoft products, retail or OEM is substantially higher than Open Source alternatives, there is a consideration that is not addressed by that cost: Training.
Most of the kids going into the army have some experience with computers: computers running Windows. The more familiar new recruits are with Army technology the less training will be required and the less time/resources/money need to be invested in getting newly enlisted GIs up to speed. The military is like a business in many ways. They write memos, reports, letters, make spreadsheets and send email. The most efficient way of getting all personel on the same page technologically is to deploy the "lowest common denominator". That is to say, software that is good enough and easy enough to use.
I was a beta tester for SWG for the past few months and after spending hours upon hours downloading patches and trying to log into the server (that seemed to always be down) I finally got in then promptly got disconnected, repeatedly. The product seemed very unpolished and lacked any real sort of focus. The tutorial was good, but once you got through it you found yourself walking around saying "gee, wish i had some clue what to do". I have played a LOT of MMORPGs and SWG is just another in a bunch of mediocre games.
Blue horseshoe loves AOL/Time Warner...
1. You have to be able to distinguish licensed from unlicensed materials. If I buy a CD you'd better belive I can copy the tracks to my computer to listen to them. If I trade those tracks to someone else how do they know they are now unlicensed?
2. If it is LEGAL to hack into and destroy a computer with non-licensed materials think about the Hackers who will write a song, copy it to a target computer, then destroy said computer LEGALLY.
3. Congress has no place dictating technology policy to the world. Let the civil courts decide who has been hurt, how badly, and decide the remedy. Copyrights infringement is not a criminal act, or at least it shouldnt be. If it is costing someone money, they can sue for damages. More laws != More gooder...
Tv, movies, books, gardening etc. are all things that are viable alternatives to gaming. In disagreeing (flaming) with me, you actually wound up paraphrasing me. Go garden, read a book, get your offline affairs in order IN ADDITION TO your online ones. A UPO degree was just an example of a "more constructive" use of time. "more constructive" of course is completely subjective and my example was just a for instance. Calm down